Excerpt from the HCS homeschool training manual, A Vision For Excellence, 2004

by HCS founders Donnie and Becky Winn

There are important steps, often overlooked, to "fail‑proof" your homeschooling family. These 8 measures can help you to succeed through the tough spots.

Determine Your Priorities

Home education is a deliberate lifestyle of returning all of life to its God-ordained jurisdiction - of regaining for the family that which God gave to the family. Let's not sabotage our own efforts by being out of order!

Consider your priorities carefully. I suggest the following:

• 1st ‑ Lord. You cannot succeed without a vital, ongoing relationship with Him! Do not skip your daily time of worship, the Word and prayer.
• 2nd ‑ Marriage. Do not get too busy with children or work to the neglect of your partner. Guard your marriage, and work to maintain a right relationship. Build good communication and special times together.
• 3rd ‑ Children. Home education does take time, so plan on it! It is more than academics, though. Remember heart issues, fun times, normal family life, learning to serve, etc. Keep a balance. Let each child know you value him. (Eye contact, physical affection, time!) Develop such a strong 'center of gravity' at home that children will not easily be drawn into 'orbit' around someone or something else
• 4th ‑ Household. Since homeschool is more home than school, it is important that our households function as smoothly and peacefully as possible. If you aren't one of the gifted ones to whom this comes naturally, study the many excellent books and tapes available on the subject. Our favorites are Bonnie's Household Organizer and the Don Aslett books. Some problem areas are: housework, laundry, and meals.
• 5th ‑ Friends, Hobbies, & Interests. Don't forget to take care of yourself! While it would be selfish to devote an inordinate amount of time to this, it would be terribly short‑sighted to forgo it altogether.
• 6th ‑ Outside Ministry. Remember, you already have a ministry ‑ building strong Christian disciples in your home.(If more people devoted themselves to that calling, many other ministries would have fewer broken lives to mend.)

The Biblical pattern in the book of Titus calls for devoting oneself to family, then hospitality and good works, then teaching. So secure your home base and reach out as you are able.

The most valuable word for protecting your priorities is "No!" Think twice about extra time commitments like skating lessons, drama classes, etc. Cut back to what you can handle honorably, and then add carefully. Especially watch the two terrible time traps ‑ television and telephone [and now Internet!]

Schedule Your Time

Use a schedule to put action to your priorities. If you don't, someone or something else will steal your valuable time.
Plan not only your school day, but also laundry, shopping, meals, housework, hospitality, family outings, nights out, library and errand trips, etc. If it needs doing, make a time for it. If it is important to you, put it in. Plus, leave catch‑-up and free time.

Budget time like money: Fixed expenses, Discretionary items.

The larger your family or the more crowded your life, the more careful your planning must be. All this scheduling may seem excessive, but if you suffer from the nagging feeling that you could do better if only you managed your time more wisely, it will be very helpful to get everything on paper at once. Of course, life will not always follow your schedule. Still, remember that a schedule altered is flexibility, while a schedule absent is chaos.

Organize your Space

First, de‑junk! Get some boxes and markers, pick a starting place, and work systematically around. Get rid of all clutter; keep only the good and useful. Be ruthless! Get help from a heartless friend. Then, do it again...Throw away, Give Away, Put Away.

Find or make a sensible place for everything, and teach everybody where things belong. Especially organize your kitchen and laundry areas. Provide enough wastebaskets and hampers, and use labeled containers or Ziplocs for things with small pieces. Set up an efficient system for mail and paperwork, and keep all school supplies together.

Train Your Children

Many parents who choose home education become occupied with academics and forget that the primary purpose of home education is child training. More than mere teaching, the term "training" implies that consistent progress is being demonstrated in the areas of disciplined behavior, godly character, and successful life skills. A well‑taught child might recite multiplication tables and write a cogent paragraph, but a well‑trained child will also keep his room clean, obey his parents, and treat others with respect. A person who is well‑educated in the traditional sense may still fail in life, but one who has been trained in life and godliness will succeed.

Parents who cannot control their children cannot teach them either. Thus, the greatest cause of frustration and ineffectiveness for the home school family is inadequate child training. In fact, parents who give up on home schooling do so primarily because of discipline problems. Therefore, the single most important factor in building a home education program that really works is to establish consistent Biblical discipline.

• Standards and penalties
• Just the facts, ma'am
• Chasten thy child
• Reconfirm in fellowship

Godly Character

Another key area of child training is the deliberate development of godly character and attitudes. A good education in a highly disciplined individual could still be put to the wrong use without the motivating factor of a heart after God. Through an emphasis on Scripture and an effort to put it into practice in your home, you can raise up young people who are a joy to be around and who walk rightly with the Lord from their youth.

• Character stories
• Character projects
• Character rebukes
• Character praise

Life Skills.

Finally, do not neglect to take advantage of the opportunity that home education provides for practical living skills.This includes good manners, household skills, work habits, money sense, and more. Since you are investing so much time and energy into training your children, it is both fair to you and good for them to learn to clean, cook, do laundry, care for the baby, shop, do yard work, etc. In this way, your home will function more smoothly and your children will be prepared for adult life.

What do you wish you had known (or your spouse had known) before you settled down to raise a family?

Add a Life Skills column to your lesson plans.

• They follow you around
• They watch you work
• They work with you
• You watch them work
• They work alone
• They train another

Make Up Your Mind to Make It Work
Like marriage or the Christian life, home education is not something to try for a few months to see if it works out. If quitting is an option, circumstances will usually conspire to induce giving up. Instead, make a firm commitment and give it every chance to succeed.

Look for solutions instead of excuses, and work at it until it works. Ask for help when you need it. Don't quit!

When teaching the children at home exposes weaknesses in them, or in you, rise to the challenge and address the situation head on. When changes have to be made, make them!

Encourage yourself in the Lord when you grow weary, and draw continually upon His strength. When you really want to, you will grow with the task. There are many valid reasons to begin home education, but it takes conviction and commitment to make it through the hard times. You can do it if you don't give up!